Sunday, September 28

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NASA, Boeing and ULA prepare third launch attempt of the Starliner Crew Flight Test – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX

NASA, Boeing and ULA prepare third launch attempt of the Starliner Crew Flight Test – Spaceflight Now

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Friday, May 31, 2024 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is the first launch with astronauts of the Boeing CFT-100 spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The flight test, targeted for launch at 12:25 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 1, serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory. Image: NASA/Joel Kowsky Launch teams are hoping that the third...
Hubble goes to single-gyro operating mode as NASA passes on private servicing mission
NASA

Hubble goes to single-gyro operating mode as NASA passes on private servicing mission

WASHINGTON — NASA will extend the life of the Hubble Space Telescope by switching to a mode where the spacecraft operates on a single gyroscope, having rejected for now commercial proposals to reboost or repair it. The agency announced June 4 that one of three remaining gyros used to control pointing of the telescope had failed and could not be restored. The telescope had been out of service since that gyro failed May 24 after several previous cases where the gyro malfunctioned but was put back into service. “After completing a series of tests and carefully considering our options, we have made the decision that we will transition Hubble to operate using only one of its three remaining gyros,” Mark Clampin, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said in a call with reporte...
Space Force leverages commercial data analytics to aid combatant commands in new ways > United States Space Force > Article Display
Space Force

Space Force leverages commercial data analytics to aid combatant commands in new ways > United States Space Force > Article Display

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AFNS) --  A pilot program developed by Space Systems Command is utilizing commercial-data analytics powered by commercially and publicly available information to provide timely surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking products to combatant commands. Known as the Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking Program, or TacSRT, the pilot program is a U.S. Space Force chief of space operations initiative to rapidly deliver commercial data analytics Operational Planning Products, or OPPs, through the USSF field components to meet unified combatant command needs.TacSRT is designed to directly implement the U.S. Space Force Commercial Space Strategy by taking advantage of speed, innovation and capabilities offered by the commercial...
NASA foregoes Sunday launch, delaying Starliner takeoff to at least Wednesday – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX

NASA foregoes Sunday launch, delaying Starliner takeoff to at least Wednesday – Spaceflight Now

The seemingly star-cross Boeing Starliner — within minutes of its long-delayed blastoff on the spacecraft’s first piloted test flight — was grounded again Saturday when one of three redundant computers managing the countdown from the base of the launch pad ran into a problem, triggering a last-minute scrub. Engineers initially were told to set up for another launch try Sunday, at 12:03 p.m. EDT, assuming the problem could be resolved in time. But NASA later announced the team would pass up the Sunday opportunity to give engineers more time to assess the computer issue. The Starliner’s test flight includes rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. Based on the lab’s orbit and the Starliner’s ability to to catch up, the next two launch opportunities after Sunday are Wednes...
Bioelectronic patch uses living bacteria to treat psoriasis in mice
Science

Bioelectronic patch uses living bacteria to treat psoriasis in mice

This living bioelectronic device is being used to treat psoriasis in miceJiuyun Shi and Bozhi Tian/University of Chicago A bioelectronic device that incorporates living skin bacteria reduces inflammation and boosts healthy skin regeneration in mice experiencing psoriasis, a chronic autoimmune disease that is characterised by the accelerated growth of skin cells. A future version of the technology might help treat some of the 125 million people worldwide with psoriasis. “For the mouse model, four days or close to one week should be enough for treatment,” says Bozhi Tian at the University of Chicago, whose team developed the device. “If you’re thinking about the potential clinical application in a human subject then a longer time will be needed – but that can easily be d...